Lacing-hook.



No. 7oo,122. .Patemed'may I3, |902.

E. KEMPSHALL.

LAGING H (Application filed Jan, 1902.)

(No Model.)

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' frit/112W' UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

ELEAZER KEMPSHALL, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO SIDNEY NV. VVINSLOW, TRUSTEE, OF BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS.

LACING-HOOK.

SPECIFICATION forming'part of Letters Patent No. 700,122, dated May 13, 1902. Application flied Tammy 30,1902. seria 110.91.815. momia.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern.:

Be it known that LELEAZER KEMPSHALL, a citizen of the United States, residing in Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Masy sachusetts, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Lacing-Hooks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to lacing-hooks such as used upon shoes and other articles, and consisting of metal hooks or studs either fully or partially incased in wear-resisting material, such as celluloid or other plastic material, an example of Which is illustrated in United States Letters Patent No. 552,841-, of September l1, 1895.

In incasing the hooks the edge of the headplate is liable to cut through the protecting material when the latter is being molded upon the former, thus rendering the article defective. In practice this cutting occurs so often as to be asource of considerable loss not only from the waste of hooks, but also because of the necessity of carefully inspecting and sorting the ,product Again, said edge is liable to work sometimes too close to the nished surface of the casing and soon wear through when the articleis put into service,

thus impairingits usefulness. This fault is difficult to discoverin the iinished article and is a source of considerable annoyance. In order to minimize Athe loss and trouble from these causes, it has been the practice to use a comparatively large amount of plastic material in incasing the hook, since by this means'the liability of'cutting or wearing through of the edge' of the metal is reduced,V

particularly when a considerable thickness of celluloid is used to cover said edge. However, owing to the somewhat brittle nature of the incasing material it isv liable to crack either when the hook is being fastened in the shoe orthereafter, pieces chipping off and rendering the hook unsightly and objectionable. Moreover, the cost of material required for forming a thick cap or head is a considerable item, since hooks are manufactured in'large quantities.v

The objects of my invention arev to avoid the liability of the edge of the metal either cutting or wearing through the case or cap;v

to reduce the amount of incasing material used, and hence cut down the cost of the hook, and to prevent the cap from chipping off when subjected to rough usage from either compression or wear.

In the drawings forming part of this speciiication, Figure l is a finished hook, partly broken away. Fig. 2 shows in section the tip or lip of a hook. Fig. 3 is a perspective of a blank of sheathing material. Fig. /Iis a diagrammatic view of a blank placed between incasing dies. Fig. 5 shows diagrammatically one method of forming a cap, this being done in this instance before the metal of the hook is bent or formed into its nal shape. Fig. 6 shows a sheet of sheathing material, fromv which may be cut blanks such as shown at Fig. 3.

For clear illustration the several gures are drawn upon various enlarged scales.

Similar parts are designated by similar letters of reference.

A represents the shank or gromet portion of a lacing hook or stud, B a neckformed thereon, and C a head formed on the neck and supported'thereby over the shankportion. Myinvention is, however, applicable to hooks 4of other forms or kinds.

The material for my improved cap is shown z,at Fig. 3, and consists of a suitably-shaped blank cut fromla sheet of materiaL-preferhook blank, the head of the latter in this instance .lying backfrom the grometA, Fig. 5. By suitable means the die F is causedto descend and force the head Cinto the `cap,"caus ing the plastic material E to flow orl spread, the dies being heated thereby to facilitate the reduction of said material of thesheath-'blank 95 to a plastic or fluent condition as the dies close. At Fig. 5 the dies are shown as closed and the' hook incased, the warm celluloidl having been caused by the pressure of the dies to fill up all crevices and to lap over the.

ICO

edges of the head, as at Il, the Celluloid being also compressed by the action of the dies, thereby solidifying and tougheniug the same. The upper die may be provided at its border with a sharp edge J for the purpose of cut- I ting off any extra material that may squeeze out as the dies close. The die-blocks may be allowed to cool before the hook is removed, so as to allow the celluloid to harden sutileiently to retain its shape. The head may then be bent up to the position shown by dotted lines at Fig. 5, giving the finished article the appearance shown at Fig. l. Thus the finished article consists of a hook whose head or enlarged end is provided with a compound sheath of fabric and celluloid, the fabric being faced by a layer of celluloid, as at K, Figs. l, 2, and 5. The spread of the fabric D may be greater than that of the head C, and the dies may cause the excess of fabric to crimp over said edge, as at L, so that said edge may be provided at all points with a two-ply facing of cloth and celluloid.

lt will be seen that an important feature of my invention resides in cloth-sheathing the outer surface of the head of a hook, said sheathing eectually withstanding the cutting tendency of the edge thereof, and shielding the celluloid facing from injury from this source, so that it becomes impossible for said edge to protrude or show through the casing at any point, either during the process of manufacture or while in subsequent service. Hence I eliminate a cause of large loss in the manufacture of the article and also produce a desirable hook, since in ordinary use the sheath does not wear away and expose the metal edge. Moreover, the fabric is embedded in the Celluloid and toughens or reinforces the latter to a phenomenal degree, so as to practically eliminate the liability of chipping or breaking. Even if the celluloid should crack it would still be held in place by the fabric, thereby preserving the sheath, so that the hook is practically indestructible. Further, by employing a cloth facing for the metal, and thereby preventing the edge from cutting, I am enabled to eect a material reduction in the amount of celluloid or other plastic material employed in forming the casing or cap, which is an advantage of vast importance, since, on the one hand, it enables a hook to be finished with a thin head, as seen at Fig. 1, and, ou the other hand, effects a great saving in the cost of material. The thinness of the head or cap is a desideratum, since it conduces to the neat appearance of the shoe. The several savings effected bypreventing cutting of the cap, by avoiding the necessity of careful inspection of the hooks, by eliminating the waste from breaking and chippingof the cap, and by materially reducing the amount of material employed amount to a large annual sum, while the value of the hook is increased.

The facing of Celluloid may be very thin, and in practice I prefer merely to have enough ofthe eelluloid to make a smooth face for the cloth D.

At Fig. G is shown, upon a smaller scale than the other figures, a sheet of cloth or other fabric D', inserted between sheets E', of celluloid or the like, said inserted sheet preferably adhering to the outer layers, thereby making it convenient to handle the sheet and also to handle the blanks cut therefrom. It is not essential, however, that the parts D E E be formed by punching from a three-ply sheet or that they be placed simultaneously upon the die, since they may be placed there one after another without departing from the scope of the invention. While I prefer to employ blanks having plastic material upon both sides of the fabric, still I do not consider that the invention is limited in all cases to this combination. One of the important features of the invention consists in employing fabric and plastic material in any suitable combination or arrangement to effect the desired end, and I consider within the scope of my invention all means to that end whether the fabric and plastic material be applied to the metal simultaneously or otherwise. Neither is my invention limited to the use of material which is rendered plastic by heating so long as a sheath is molded upon the head of a hook and includes a fabric protection for the metal. If desired, the plies ot' material, Fig. 6, may be subjected to simultaneous heat and pressure, so as to cause the plastic material to work into the meshes of the cloth.

It will be observed that the fabric is held in place upon the gromet by means of the celluloid, which curls around the edge of the latter, so as to form a key thereon, and hence interlock therewith, the fabric being embedded in the celluloid, which 'is highly compressed.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of my invention. In using the term celluloid I mean to include all equivalents thereof and do not intend to restrict the inven tion to any particular composition or compound of the Celluloid class;

The herein-described process is made the subject-matter of my pending application, Serial No. 91,693,1iled January 29, 1902. My claims in the present application are limited to a cap of the character described when used in connection with a lacing-hook, the broad combination of such a cap with a metallic article being claimed in my other eopending application, Serial No. 90,443, filed January 20, 1002.

Having described my invention, I claiml. A lacing-hook having a head and a cap or facing on said head, said cap or facing consisting of fabric and celluloid,

2. A lacing-hook having a head, and a cap or facing on said head, said cap or facing consisting of fibrous material combined with plastic material.

3. A lacing-hook having ahead, and a fab- IIS ric sheath secured upon said head by means of celluloid, said fabric being also faced by celluloid.

4. A lacing-hook comprisinga metal body, a head, and a cap molded upon said head and consisting of celluloid and fabric, the fabric forming a sheath Within the celluloid and covering the edge of the metal in the head.

5. A lacing-hook comprising a body and a head, and a cap protecting said head and consisting of a fabric sheath faced With Wear-resisting material and compressed upon said head.

6. Alacing-hook having a metal head, and a cap secured thereon and consisting of fibrous material faced with Wear-resisting material.

'7. A lacing-hookhaving a head and fabric protecting said head, said fabric having a thin ELEAZER KEMPSHALL.

Witnesses:

B. C. STICKNEY, FRED. J. DOLE. 

